November 6, 2014

The headquarters of the Federal Communications Commission. (Flickr/Federal Communications Commission)

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As the country recovers from the midterm elections, the FCC is nearing a decision that could dramatically transform the Internet. The good news is that the 4 million comments submitted to the FCC on net neutrality, a record number, have made an impact: the FCC has abandoned the undemocratic, corporate-championed proposal on net neutrality the agency announced in May.

The bad news is that the FCC is reportedly considering a “hybrid” plan that could still leave us with exactly what we don’t want: fast lanes for the 1 percent and slow lanes for everybody else.

Advocates for net neutrality agree: the only way to truly protect Internet freedom is by reclassifying broadband under the Communications Act. Only then will the FCC have the tools to prevent giant cable companies from running roughshod over the freewheeling, dynamic Internet we’ve come to rely on.

In an article at TechDirt.com, Mike Masnick breaks down the “hybrid” plan as reported by The Wall Street Journal and explains why just about everyone hates it.

TO WATCH

As the FCC nears its decision, it’s worth revisting one of the biggest moments in this year’s fight for net neutrality. Back in June, when John Oliver pointed out the absurd arguments made by net neutrality opponents, he prompted thousands to submit comments on the FCC’s website, temporarily causing it to crash.

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